Education: Music

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the likely impact of a reduction in the Music Grant on literacy and numeracy attainment.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Research has shown that a quality music education can have positive effects on literacy and numeracy and the Government are committed to ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn a musical instrument and to sing. No decision has been taken on funding for music education beyond March 2011 as the spending review continues. The Secretary of State announced on 24 September that he has asked Darren Henley, Managing Director of Classic FM, to carry out a review focusing on the funding routes and delivery mechanisms for music education.

Education: Music

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the likely impact of a reduction in the Music Grant on speech and language development.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Research has shown that a quality music education can have positive effects on speech and language development. No decision has been taken on funding for music education beyond March 2011 as the spending review continues. The Secretary of State announced on 24 September that he has asked Darren Henley, Managing Director of Classic FM, to carry out a review focusing on the funding routes and delivery mechanisms for music education.

Education: Music

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the likely impact of reductions in (a) the Music Grant, and (b) the Music and Dance Scheme, on the United Kingdom's creative economy.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Overall the creative economy is a growth sector which currently contributes 6.2 per cent GVA or nearly £60 billion annually. Just under 2 million people are employed in creative industries. The Government are committed to ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn a musical instrument and to sing and should have the chance to progress as far as possible in their musical education. No decision has been taken on funding for music education, including the music and dance scheme, beyond March 2011 as the spending review continues. The Secretary of State announced on 24 September that he has asked Darren Henley, Managing Director of Classic FM, to carry out a review focusing on the funding routes and delivery mechanisms for music education.

Education: Qualifications and University Places

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many students in England and Wales took (a) two or more A-level examinations this year, and (b) five or more GCSE examinations in 2008; and how many first-year places at English and Welsh Universities they are funding for the academic year 2010-11.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Statistics on how many students in England entered two or more A-level examinations at the end of their key stage 5 studies in 2010 will be published on 21 October 2010.
	Statistics on how many students in Wales entered two or more A-level examinations at age 17 in 2010 will be published on 29 September 2010.
	In 2008, 612,821 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in England entered the equivalent of five or more GCSEs.
	In the same year, 34,495 pupils in Wales aged 15 on 31 August 2007 entered the equivalent of five or more GCSEs.
	The Higher Education Funding Council England (HEFCE) teaching grant funding is allocated on a total full-time equivalent basis and does not distinguish between different course years. It is therefore not possible to give a figure relating to first-year places only. The December 2009 HEFCE Grant Letter funded, for the 2010-11 academic year, an additional 10,000 full-time equivalent places compared to 2009-10 (covering students in all years of study). In addition to this, the University Modernisation Fund has provided teaching grant funding for 10,000 new full-time equivalent entrant places, of which we estimate 8,000 will be full-time and 2,000 part-time.
	The Higher Education Funding Council Wales (HEFCW) teaching grant funding is allocated on a credit value basis and does not distinguish between different course years. It is therefore not possible to give a figure relating to first-year places only. The 2010-11 HEFCW recurrent grant circular estimates an overall 58,994 funded full-time and sandwich places.

International Maritime Organisation

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support the International Maritime Organisation's 2010: Year of the Seafarer; and what practical help and advice they have given to the International Maritime Organisation in meeting its aims.

Earl Attlee: The United Kingdom fully supports the importance of the work of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in the promotion of the highest standards of safety for ships and seafarers and designating 2010 as the year of the seafarer.
	The United Kingdom played a full and prominent role in further developing the international code and convention on standards of training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers at the diplomatic conference in Manila in March. This convention sets minimum standards relating to the training, certification and watchkeeping standards required for seafarers. The UK recently published The Human Element which focuses on the importance of the seafarer in increasing safety and a successful maritime industry. This has been well received throughout the industry.

Roads: Animal Accidents

Viscount Falkland: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many accidents involving horses and their riders have taken place on roads in each of the previous five years.

Earl Attlee: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Reported personal injury road accidents involving a ridden horse: GB 2005-09 
			 Accident Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 
			 Number of accidents 136 118 133 109 102

Schools: Academies

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many academies have, as members of their governing bodies, (a) local councillors from the local authority in which they are situated, (b) parents of pupils attending the school, indicating in how many cases they have been (1) elected, and (2) appointed, and (c) other residents of the relevant local authority area; and, in each case, what is this number as a proportion of the total number of academies.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Information on members of academies' governing bodies is not held centrally.

Schools: Diabetes

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children with type 1 diabetes have been denied an education at school in each year since 2000.

Lord Hill of Oareford: The department has not commissioned any research into this subject and we do not hold any information on it. Local authorities have a duty to provide an education for all children. The School Admissions Code enables admission authorities to give higher priority in their oversubscription criteria to children for medical reasons. However, they must not use this criterion to give a child a lower priority in obtaining a place at a school. The statutory guidance on exclusions also makes it clear that pupils may not be excluded from school on the grounds of their medical need.

Schools: Pupil Premium

Lord Corbett of Castle Vale: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria schools must meet to qualify for the pupil premium.

Lord Hill of Oareford: The criteria pupils must meet to qualify for the pupil premium will be determined following the outcome of the public consultation entitled Consultation on School Funding 2011-12: Introducing a Pupil Premium, which is due to end on Monday 18 October 2010. This is available at www.education.gov.uk/consultations. It consults on the following possible qualifying criteria:
	eligibility for free school meals, both current and previous; tax credit indicator; andcommercial packages such as Mosaic or Acorn.
	The consultation also outlines proposals to extend the premium to include looked-after children and the children of service personnel.

Shipping: Foreign-owned Vessels

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they collect information centrally about the number of seafarers left stranded in the United Kingdom as a result of ship owners dismissing crews.

Earl Attlee: Existing merchant shipping legislation does not provide for the Department for Transport or the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to be advised of seafarers who are left stranded in the UK as a result of being dismissed, except where they are non-UK nationals from a UK registered ship. Because such occurrences have been extremely rare it has not been the practice to collect data or maintain records.

Shipping: Foreign-owned Vessels

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they give to crews of foreign-owned vessels who are stranded in United Kingdom ports.

Earl Attlee: Under merchant shipping legislation there is no requirement for the Department for Transport to provide assistance to crews of foreign-owned vessels who are stranded in United Kingdom ports. Under the International Labour Organization Convention No. 23 responsibility for supervising the repatriation of a seafarer rests with the state in which the vessel is registered.

Shipping: General Lighthouse Authorities

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government by how much the General Lighthouse Authorities will reduce their budgets in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Earl Attlee: The corporate plans and budgets of the General Lighthouse Authorities are due to be submitted to the Department for Transport shortly.

Shipping: General Lighthouse Authorities

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the e-Loran project funding from the General Lighthouse Fund and the Department for Transport will cease.

Earl Attlee: Her Majesty's Government have agreed to review the costs, benefits and risks of e-Loran before deciding how to proceed.

Shipping: General Lighthouse Authorities

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the General Lighthouse Authorities have scaled back their inspection of third party aids to navigation; and if so, how much sailing time this has saved.

Earl Attlee: No. The General Lighthouse Authorities continue to inspect third party aids to navigation in accordance with their statutory responsibilities and duties under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. Inspections that are carried out from the authorities' own vessels are, as far as possible, programmed to coincide with other operations in the vicinity and to take place after dark when other work is not possible, in order to keep sailing time to a minimum.

Shipping: General Lighthouse Authorities

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration has been given to reducing the collective size of the General Lighthouse Authorities, Marine Management Organisation and Maritime and Coastguard Agency's fleets in the Comprehensive Spending Review; and whether the market will be tested fully and comprehensively when replacement vessels are required.

Earl Attlee: Future spending plans and operational requirements for the Marine Management Organisation and Maritime and Coastguard Agency are being considered in the spending review. Any proposals for replacement vessels for the General Lighthouse Authorities will be subject to a full business case and market testing.

Shipping: Light Dues

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the collection arrangements for light dues have been assessed to see whether there is an opportunity for greater fiscal and operational efficiency.

Earl Attlee: The Atkins Assessment of the Provision of Aids to Navigation around the United Kingdom and Ireland included a review of the method of charging for aids to navigation.

Shipping: Light Dues

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Secretary of State for Transport on 31 October 1988 (Official Report, Commons, cols. 549-50W), how much revenue has been collected by way of light dues over the past three years, specifying the amounts paid by different types of vessel.

Earl Attlee: Light dues receipts to the General Lighthouse Fund in respect of the past three financial years were as follows:
	
		
			 Vessel Category 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 
			  £'000 £'000 £'000 
			 Tankers 18,137 15,354 14,874 
			 General Cargo 6,130 5,926 6,392 
			 Bulk Carriers 7,422 8,639 8,715 
			 Container Ships 30,702 27,259 25,674 
			 Passenger Ships 2,302 1,902 1,907 
			 Roll-on-Roll-off 4,353 3,333 3,584 
			 Yachts 3 3 2 
			 Tugs 50 33 30 
			 Fishing 85 41 40 
			 Other 7,583 7,078 6,222 
			 Total 76,767 69,568 67,440

Sir Philip Green

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have taken steps to avoid any conflicts of interest arising between the work of Sir Philip Green in his review of the efficiency of government spending and the activities of companies and trusts under the control of or associated with Sir Philip, his family or associates.

Baroness Verma: The information being provided to the review team takes account of Sir Philip Green's interests.